It has been an up and down 2o13 season for Boston Red Sox starter Jon Lester, but on Tuesday he turned in an incredible performance against Detroit Tigers‘ starter and American League Cy Young favorite Max Scherzer.

Aiming for his 20th win of the season, Scherzer was denied his bid in a Boston Red Sox 2-1 victory. In seven strong innings, Lester recorded nine strikeouts while walking zero in a one run effort against baseball’s strongest offense.

Despite being inconsistent for much of the season, Lester is turning the corner at the right time. With the Red Sox extending their American League East lead to 5.5 games, Lester has been one of the main reasons why.

Since the All-Star break, Lester has been one of the best starters in the American League. In nine starts, Lester is 5-2 with a 2.41 ERA. Previous to his first half totals, Lester’s strikeouts, walks, opponents batting average, and home run totals are all much improved.

Tallying impressive performances against both the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers, Lester is now making a strong case to be the Red Sox’ number one starter for the postseason. While many were predicting that Lackey would be the one to get the ball, Lester has seemingly edged ahead, matching what the Red Sox were hoping for at the beginning of the season.

Many agreed that Lester and Clay Bucholz needed to be excellent for the Red Sox to stand a chance in 2013. As of today, one is here and the other is hopefully on his way.

Benjamin Riley is a Major League Baseball columnist for RantSports.com. Follow Ben on Twitter and “Like” him on Facebook.